British house prices have risen by 50pc since 2001, ranking the UK 13th in a
Lloyds TSB table of the best-performing international housing markets.

India claimed the top spot, rising 284pc between the third quarter of 2001 and the third quarter of 2011. Russia was second in the table, which compared housing markets in 32 separate countries, with a rise of 209pc. South Africa, Lithuania, Hong Kong and Bulgaria also saw triple-digit rises.

"Overall, house price growth during the past decade has generally been stronger in the countries with the fastest growing economies," said Suren Thiru, economist at Lloyds TSB International. "A house price divide appears to be opening up with the general outperformance of the housing market in emerging economies compared to more developed nations, reflecting the stronger economic performance of these countries."

The UK market performed slightly worse than the average 56pc price rise of the 32 countries surveyed.

US house prices were down 2pc over the decade, while they fell 17pc in Germany, 23pc in Ireland, and 30pc in Japan.

"Looking forward, the outlook for house prices globally is likely to be determined in part by the pace at which the global economic recovery continues, the events in the eurozone as well as the economic prospects of individual countries," said Mr Thiru.

Separately, Halifax said that almost 45pc of first-time buyers would have to pay stamp duty if the Government lowered the threshold back to £125,000.

Currently stamp duty does not have to be paid by first-time buyers on properties bought for less than £250,000, but the holiday was introduced as a temporary measure and is scheduled to come to end on March 24.

Halifax said that the lower threshold enabled 95pc of first-time buyers to avoid paying stamp duty – an extra four in 10.